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First Frogmen

During the first years of World War II Italian frogmen demonstrated to the world how effective a weapon a frogman could be. Hidden by the water, these frogmen mined the Allies’ ships as they were moored ‘safely’ in their own waters.

Words:
Sven Erik Jørgensen
The Danish Society of Diving History
Images:
Download the full article as pdf ⬇︎
Wrecks & Archaeology
Historical Diving

The idea of such a weapon arose in World War I, when experiments were carried out using different vessels to carry mines into the Austro-Hungarian naval base in Pola. The weapon was developed during the inter-war years

1915

While the war was raging on the battlefields of Europe, and submarines were terrorising the ships on the high seas, the Austro-Hungarian fleet and Italian fleet lay mostly well protected in their harbours, surrounded by mine-fields and anti-submarine nets. This passivity was, in the main, due to the ongoing submarine war.  

Part two of the story is found here:  First Frogmen - part 2

X-RAY MAGAZINE FEATURE

First Frogmen - part 2

In the years prior to World War II, the Italian fleet had developed a new underwater weapon, the SLC, a slow torpedo which was manned by two divers. Submerged, and thereby unseen, the frogmen on the SLC could get close in to the enemy ships and mine them. The frogmen trained in attacking their own ships, and after many excercises developed a procedure for approach and placing mines under the ships.

Words:
Sven Erik Jørgensen
Images:
Download the full article as pdf ⬇︎
Historical Diving

As soon as the submarine was in position, and the frogmen were out, the containers were opened and the SLC drawn out. The frogmen then tested all the functions of the SLC before setting out for the target. The first part of the trip took place on the surface, when only the heads of the frogmen were above the surface. The frogmen had full face masks on but breathed through a valve in the mouthpiece out to the air in order not to deplete the oxygen stores.

 

10th flottila

No more attempts were made with the SLC that year, and on the 15th March 1941 the 1st Light flotilla, to which the frogmen belonged, was reorganised and given the cover-name Decima Flottiglia MAS (10th Light Flotilla).

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